MONTPELIER - The Vermont Supreme Court is affirming a minimum 14-year prison sentence for a man convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the 2004 death of his wife whose body was found outside their Bethel home.

William "Al" Kimmick had filed a post-conviction relief claim that he had ineffective counsel during the 2005 sentencing phase after his conviction on the manslaughter charge filed after the death of his wife 41-year-old, Kathyrn Kimmick.

The body of Kathryn Kimmick was found frozen in a car outside her Bethel apartment on Jan. 23, 2004, about three days after she died. An autopsy found she died of blows to the head.

William Kimmick fled to Taiwan after his wife's death, but he surrendered and returned to the United States.